Keeping eartheaters in a planted tank?

[ktluvsfish]

I am wanting to add a few plants to my 80 gallon which has a Jurupari and Heckelli. Will they mess with the plants or leave them alone. I just want to add a couple of amazon swords and maybe some java fern, but I don't want to do it if the plants are going to get torn up my my fish. If anyone has experience keeping eartheaters in planted tanks, I would love to hear about it.

 

[robmcd]

If you plant the tank when they are smaller ,like 2''r less they shouldnt mess with the plants. In my experience, adding plants with adult geos means lots of uprooted plants all the time.

 

[ktluvsfish]

If you plant the tank when they are smaller ,like 2''r less they shouldnt mess with the plants. In my experience, adding plants with adult geos means lots of uprooted plants all the time.

Thanks for the imput. My Jurupari is 2.5" and the Heckelli is 3.5". Do you think they would be okay? If they do uproot the plants, would they leave them alone if I put some rocks around the base of them?

 

[robmcd]

Give it a shot. I did it with 5 ,4 to 5'' Oheads. It was just a headache. I got some swords to finally take root but smaller stuff like valisneria didnt even last an hour. I finally gave up on it after 2 weeks of constantly replanting it.

 

[Eric A]

Amazon words are very deep rooting, so it shouldn't be a problem in the near future. Put a ring of small rocks or pebbles around the base of the plant to make sure they don't get dug out. I did this with african cichlids. The roks were just a tad bit too heavy for them to dig and shove out of the way lol.

 

[EdCal]

I tied some anubias and java fern to some driftwood, they doing great. I also bought pretty large sword with a big root ball. covered the roots with river rocks. those the only 3 plants I got take in my geo tank

 

[peathenster]

I have Anubias, java fern and large swords in my tank .... my eartheaters (various Geophagus, Gymnogenphagus balzanii, various Satanoperca and Acarichthys) never even looked at them...severums are another story.

 

[ktluvsfish]

I tied some anubias and java fern to some driftwood, they doing great. I also bought pretty large sword with a big root ball. covered the roots with river rocks. those the only 3 plants I got take in my geo tank

Thanks for the info. I have an abundance of Java Fern and Aunubias in my planted tank that I could move over. I also have a large sword in my 70 gallon that needs to be moved over to a larger tank.

Amazon words are very deep rooting, so it shouldn't be a problem in the near future. Put a ring of small rocks or pebbles around the base of the plant to make sure they don't get dug out. I did this with african cichlids. The roks were just a tad bit too heavy for them to dig and shove out of the way lol.

Thanks for the advice Would river rocks or beach rocks work?

 

[ktluvsfish]

I have Anubias, java fern and large swords in my tank .... my eartheaters (various Geophagus, Gymnogenphagus balzanii, various Satanoperca and Acarichthys) never even looked at them...severums are another story.

That's good to know. The pics of your tanks are beautiful and I hope that mine can look half as good as yours does. I did learn the hard way with Severums and plants, lol. I added my rottie to my planted angelfish tank and it was demolished within a week.

 

[peathenster]

That's good to know. The pics of your tanks are beautiful and I hope that mine can look half as good as yours does. I did learn the hard way with Severums and plants, lol. I added my rottie to my planted angelfish tank and it was demolished within a week.

Thanks for the kind words. I am not set up to maintain plants properly, so they are like consumables....need a new batch every few weeks. Anubias are my favorite - they don't die